7:23 PM,
Jan. 16, 2014

Wes Driver as John Tanner and Evelyn O'Neal Brush as Ann Whitefield in Blackbird Theater's 'Man and Superman.'

Written by

Fiona Soltes
| For The Tennessean

When it came to presenting George Bernard Shaw's epic four-act, five-hour play "Man and Superman" in its entirety, there was no question: It wouldn't work.

And yet, taking the "easy" way out by cutting the third act - a seemingly divergent dream sequence that takes place in hell - wouldn't be fitting for Blackbird Theater, either. Other companies certainly have, trimming 90 minutes in one fell swoop.

But for a professional company known for its intellectual pursuits, philosophical explorations and bent toward less-produced classics, it made more sense to trim the piece throughout, ...